Did anyone else see Mark Shields spinning away last night on the Lehrer NewsHour?
Every Friday, Shields and David Brooks do a little back-and-forth on a current issues, and last night they were chattering about Kerry. I wasn't paying too much attention until the very end, when the host brought up Cardinal Arinze's comments about pro-abortion politicians.
He asked Shields, "Didn't the Church just say that pro-abortion politicians shouldn't be given Communion?"
Shields sputtered and said quickly, in almost these exact words, Well, that wasn't the Church, that was a Nigerian cardinal. And I know that Kerry met with Cardinal McCarrick, the Archbishop of Baltimore.....
A little background -- Mr Shields is a pundit who writes on current events and on the political scene. He is also one of those self-proclaimed Catholics of a certain generation that somehow always manages to defend whatever the Democrat in question is doing. If you pressed him, I'm sure he would be quick to say something like, but of course I'm Catholic! I'm Irish, aren't I? I was an altar boy! Mr Shields lives in Washington, DC, and is involved in Catholic life to some degree; he's said to be a parishioner at a parish in Northwest DC, and my husband once saw him buying medals at the Shrine.
So what's with not knowing that Cardinal McCarrick is the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, not Baltimore? Baltimore has her own Cardinal Archbishop! It's true that the Archdiocese of Washington was spun off from Baltimore, but that was in the 1940's, so it's not exactly recent news.
And what's with this dismissive that was a Nigerian cardinal? Does Mr Shields seriously not know who Francis Cardinal Arinze is? Does he not understand that the Cardinal is not just some random prelate shooting off his mouth -- that he is the Prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments -- a member of the Curia? Is Mr Shields really just that out of touch?
Or is he really being that disingenuous?
Either way, it was not an edifying display (particularly that line about the Nigerian cardinal, which to me came across as patronizing and parochial -- at best.) If Mr Shields wants to shill for Democrats, that's his business, but if he wants to represent himself as a knowledgable commentator on Catholic affairs, it's time to get up to speed. And it's time for the Lehrer NewsHour to find a better Catholic talking head.
UPDATE: Mark the Vociferous Yawper found and posted the transcript. An excerpt:
MARK SHIELDS: It was not the Catholic Church. It was Cardinal Arinze, who is a Nigerian cardinal and said it in a press questioning. There is a question here of whether the Holy Eucharist Communion will be used as a political football. Cardinal McCarrick, the cardinal archbishop of Baltimore [sic] right now has been meeting, trying to come up with some sort of a prudential decision on this.
I didn't see it, but "That was a Nigerian cardinal!" does have that more "out-of-touch" connotation than "That was a Canadian cardinal!" or "That was a British cardinal!" I fail to see how the issues about reception of Communion in Kerry's case can somehow only be understood by an American, as American "doctrine" has nothing to do with it...
Isn't this the big problem with being a liberal democrat AND a Catholic? They all seem -be it Kerry,Kennedy,Mark Shields or whoever- to be soooo out of touch with what their religion is really all about! Take the infamous Kerry communion fiasco @ that AME Zion church;I've only been Catholic for 4 years, and even I know thats wrong!!! I did not however,know who Cardinal Azine was by name.
I think they depend on Protestant ignorance of Catholicism, so all the Protestant voter sees is a man who is "trying to be a good Christian", and a few Priests and Bishops who seem to be
"out to get the poor guy".
Good post!
"out of touch" -- well, that's a nice way to put it. you're sooooooo much more charitable than i!
But he doesn't need "to represent himself as a knowledgable commentator on Catholic affairs." The liberal agenda will always come before the Catholic one. And most Catholics don't know any more than he does about the authority with which the cardinal speaks.
well, I know more than he does. And I'm cuter, too -- Lehrer should can Shields and hire me. It would add some much needed diversity to their lineup. I could be their token stout right-wing suburban mommy.
The Nigerian cardinal part doesn't sound as bad as he actually said it though -- if he thinks McCarrick is the Archbishop of Baltimore, maybe he just doesn't know anything about Arinze except that he's from Nigeria and he's a cardinal.
Maybe Mr. Shields will know who Cardinal Arinze is if the cardinal becomes the next pope.
wouldn't THAT be a blessing? praypraypray!